Let's talk about oats.

This post is so long overdue; for months, my collection of Instagram oat photos has been growing (especially with a different theme of #OatasticWeekends each week) so now I am going to try to collate them all into one post on my blog. Apologies in advance. This is going to be a long one folks (remember, there are 365 possible oat breakfasts a year)!

P.s. There will be sub-sections...because you can make a lot more from oats than just porridge!

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Also in this post, I want to talk about Natvia. Natvia is the secret, not-so-secret, ingredient in most of my oat dishes; it adds sweetness in a 100% natural, 0 calorie way. It is also ideal for people suffering from diabetes as it is low G.I. Scroll to the end of the post for more info on Natvia and why it is a great alternative to sugar!

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OATMEAL/ PORRIDGE

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CARROT CAKE OATS

Starting with the most recent, this one's rabbit food...but good rabbit food.

TO MAKE:

You will need:

- 1/4 cup oats

- 1 cup water

- 1 medium carrot, grated

- 1tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp nutmeg + cardamom (optional)

- 2tsp coconut sugar
- 1tsp natvia

- small handful raisins

- maca root (I used Organic Burst) - (optional)

- Purple Balance vanilla vegan protein powder

1. In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup oats, 1 medium carrot (grated), 1 cup water, 1tsp cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg + cardamom powder (optional), 2-3tsp coconut sugar, tsp natvia and a small handful of raisins.
2. Bring to the boil and stir continuously for 1 minute or so until the oats have cooked.
3. Once cooked and off the heat, I stirred in 1tsp @organicburst maca and 1tbsp @purplebalance vanilla vegan protein powder.

TO DECORATE

• For the eyes: cut two diagonal slices near the end of a banana. Half a raisin (ensuring it is a circular shape) and place one half on top of each 'eye'.

• For the nose: flatten a dried date and cut into the rounded upside-down triangular shape.

• For the whiskers: use a small seed (such as sunflower or hemp) to create three whiskers on each side of the nose.

• To line the checks, use cacao nibs or more seeds (preferably different from the whiskers).

• For the ears, I used cinnamon bark.